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Global concerns about the gender disparity in computing occupations have gained more importance with the emerging information age. Gender disparity in computing has become a global concern due to the emergence of the Information Age. Main concerns arose due to the growing gender disparity in the field of computing. The field of computing increasingly has developed a gender gap. This gender gap has made the field become more male dominant. With the decline in women pursuing education within the field of computer science and women working in field, lack of diversity in field emerged. These concerns Concerns of improving perspective in the field, creating more diversity, and attempting to close the gender gap motivated public policy debates addressing gender equality as computer applications exerted increasing influence in society. due to the growing importance of computing and technology in society. This dialogue helped to expand information technology innovations and to reduce the consequences of sexism. Growing concerns about the disparity in computing has allowed for the rise of organizations creating their own initiatives to bring women into the field of computer science.

Women attending the British Computer Society Women Wikipedia editathon at BCS London.

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Background

In the early days of computers and computing, women were well-represented in the field. Women often worked as "human computers," making complicated calculations and working in large groups, such as the Harvard Computers. Women also worked on ballistics calculations. and cryptography. In 1946, the University of Pennsylvania's Moore School of Electrical engineering and the Unites States Army Ballistics Research Laboratory began to research the trajectories of projectiles. 200 women had been involved in this research. Human computers who were women could be paid less than their male counterparts. By 1943, the majority of human computers were women. Due to the lack of labor resources during the Second World War, women were actively recruited into computer jobs that would traditionally gone to men. Due to the lack of labor resources during the Second World War, women were actively recruited into computer jobs that would traditionally gone to men. Finding jobs in the computer science field allowed women to find higher opportunities in the workforce. Early programmers on machines such as ENIAC, were mostly women. The reason that women were involved as programmers and human computers was because "they expected programming to be a low skill clerical function," and that the difficult work was the creation of the hardware, which male engineers largely worked on. The programmers of the ENIAC, six women who designed the public demonstrations and prepared the machine for its public debut were not fully recognized for their contributions by the media.

Two women reprogram the ENIAC.

By the 1960s, while computer programming was still touted as a good field for women to go into, major shifts were beginning to take place that would help push women out of the field. Men who were programming started to make the field more "prestigious," creating professional associations, education requirements for work and by actively discouraging hiring women in the field. Hiring tools were introduced in which answers were shared among all-male groups and clubs. Another way to push women out of the field was to use personality tests that favored people who were not interested in working with others, which was slanted towards a certain type of male applicant. After these trends were entrenched in the industry, it has continued to perpetuate itself into the modern day. Some computer science programs, such as Princeton, in the mid-1960s wouldn't even admit women into their program.

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Gender gap

Statistics in education[edit]

In the United States, the proportion of women represented in undergraduate computer science education and the white-collar information technology workforce peaked in the mid-1980s, and has declined ever since. In 1984, 37.1% of Computer Science degrees were awarded to women; the percentage dropped to 29.9% in 1989-1990, and 26.7% in 1997-1998. Figures from the Computing Research Association Taulbee Survey indicate that fewer than 12% of Computer Science bachelor's degrees were awarded to women at U.S. PhD-granting institutions in 2010-11. When looking at the percentage of women earning master's degrees, it peaked around 2000 at 33% and dropped to 27% in 2008. Computer science holds one of the lowest proportion of women holding a doctorate's degree in the field.

In the United States, the representation of women in the computing field has declined over the past thirty years. Currently, women only make up 18% of graduates with a degree in computer science. In a study based in the United States, "Anatomy of an Enduring Gender Gap: The Evolution of Women's Participation in Computer Science", researchers found an overall decline in women's intent to major in the computer science field. They found that by 2011 only 0.4% of women planned to major in computer science compared to 3.3.% of men. The study also found, as of 2011, only 15% of women were computer science majors.

Benefits of gender diversity[edit]

A gender-diverse team is more likely to create products that meet people's requirements.^{[citation needed]} When women are underrepresented, many technical decisions are based on men's experiences, opinions, and judgement, resulting in a male-slanted bias. In addition, a review of research on gender-diverse teams reveals that gender-diverse teams are more productive, more creative, and more able to stay on schedule and within budget, compared to homogenous teams, while other research review suggests that the results are mixed, with many studies showing no result, non-linear results or even negative results of gender diversity on team performances. Research conducted by McKinsey & Company showed that companies with women in top management were more financially successful, in contrast, analysis of sample major US companies showed no effect of inclusion of women (or minority members) on financial performance; these varied results give no conclusive evidence of the benefits of diversity.

The book Gender and Computers: Understanding the Digital Divide states that the lack of participation of females in computing excludes them from the "new economy", which calls for sophisticated computer skills in exchange for high salary positions.

In an article titled, "Diversity in Computing: Why It Matters and How Organizations Can Achieve It, Wendy M. DuBow looks into the benefits of gender diversity in the field of computer programming. In the article, DuBow finds missed potential when a workforce is not diverse. DuBow found having a diverse team, in culture, gender and race, allowed for more creativity, innovation, and productivity.

"Innovative Potential: Men and Women in Teams", a study produced by The Lehman Brothers Centre for Women in Business and the London Business School, found that teams with equal gender membership, from 21 different companies, were more efficient in their goals and more experimental.

A women sitting down, while using her computer. The sticker reads, "No, this is not my boyfriend's computer."

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Bringing women into computing

Three women repair computers in Lilongwe, Malawi.

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Twenty-First Century Efforts

National Center for Women & Information Technology[edit]

National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) is currently one of the lead supporters currently leads the support of women's entry and retention in computing. Their goal is to The National Center for Women & Information Technology aims to help to create both academic and work environments that are welcoming and fair for women. Their research shows that In their research, encouragement is one of the key elements to help women enter a primarily male-dominated field. They found They also found women report more often than their male-counterpart that they entered computer science due to the influence of a teacher, family member, or friend's encouragement more often than their male counterparts. Their findings They conclude that support can make the difference in a woman's belief that she is competent enough to compete in computing. can allow a woman to believe in her ability to compete in the field of computing. Thus, the NCWIT developed a program called Aspirations in Computing. in order to This program provides girls the necessary encouragement, a network of support, and female role models with encouragement through a network of support and female role models. In a survey done, nearly half of the girls polled said they would feel uncomfortable being the only girl in a group or class. , one of the Aspirations main goals is to enable girls to feel less isolated in these predicaments. They have Aspirations in Computing found that creating a sense of belonging or "fitting in" is becomes a fundamental for interest and current retention. The NCWIT Aspirations Award was National Center for Women & Information Technology created the Aspirations Award in order to involve women in a national competition, . a Awardees are selected for their computing and IT aptitude, leadership skills, academics, and plans for graduate schooling. Due to their reach and awareness of the program, they saw a 54% increase in the girls applying in the 2013 season compared to the previous year.

Academies and Organizations

A woman and her colleague learn how to code in a coding workshop.

Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization, founded to close the gap of gender within technology. The organization was founded by Reshma Saujani in 2012 in New York City with around 20 girls. As of August 2017, the organization is now in all 50 states with a membership of 40,000 girls. The organization holds programs, like the Summer Immersion Program, where participants are paired with companies within the STEM field. They are able to gain experience and mentorship through the program. Girls Who Code also hold after school programs in all 50 states.

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